Layrite | Supershine Cream

Today, we kick off our series of reviews looking at the new and new-ish products from Layrite with some homage paid to their newly designed jars. We'll begin by first looking at their Supershine Cream. I was told that they merely cleaned up the scent, but after trying it out, it feels like they did more than that -- the reformulate cream is magnificent. We'll then follow up this review with their Cement Clay and Natural Matte Cream.

Design

You all remember the original Layrite jar. They used the same white gloss plastic jar that every other gel-pomade label uses. Brittle plastic that was prone to cracking and had disgustingly harsh parting lines on the bottom from manufacturing. Their new jars are fucking beautiful. Textured finish to diffuse the light, almost no visible fabrication marks, thin and flexible lid, and additionally coarse textured label to further diffuse light across the label. In short, the new jars and bottles are very sexy.

Does this effect your ability to style your hair? No. But it shows how much the label cares about their product. And as a designer myself, this shit needs to be appreciated.

Scent

Once upon a time, this shit smelled like wet toxic paint. How that was allowed to happen...I have no idea. But now, it has the classic Layrite vanilla aroma.

Consistency

As the name suggests, this product feels like a cream. The original formula felt like Elmer's glue, but this time around, it feels like a thick lotion with some grip.

Application

This make is very easy to apply. However, it needs to be said that it's got noticeable grip.

Shine

It's very shiny but not overboard like it was in the original formula. In my opinion, the shine is much better now because I'm not trying to rock a mirror on my head. The new Layrite Supershine Cream undoubtedly provides shine, but thankfully it knows where to draw the line.

Slickness

It's very slick -- like the original Crystal Lake formula. It'll capture all your stray hairs and you will be pointed towards a clean pompadour.

Strength

I was actually very surprised by the amount of hold it provides. I was expecting something along the lines of the original Supershine formula which was definitely a light hold. Instead, it could be argued as a solid medium hold product.

Control

All of these tie into making Layrite a solid standalone pomade and capable of providing intuitive control. Needless to say, I'm very impress with how this product turned out.

Endurance

Expectedly, this is the weakest characteristic of Layrite Supershine Cream. It is a medium hold and lightweight product, which makes it very difficult to be resilient to being messed up during the day.

Restyling

However, the fact that this pomade never dries allows you to easily rework it throughout the day. It unfortunately doesn't look good messy (unlike a clay), so it's fortunate to have the restyling capability. Also, you'll surprisingly have most of the volume you began the day with to use throughout the day.

Hardness

Doesn't harden at all.

Greasiness

Not with this new formula. It's surprisingly dry.

Rinsing

Washes out with just water.

Conclusion

In all honesty, this is not what I expected. I was told that they merely changed the scent from wet paint to vanilla, but instead, I feel like this Supershine Cream has been completely overhauled. What was once a chrome-like topper is now a standalone pomade with high shine. This pomade receives my seal of approval for having characteristics many other top water-based pomade have but without many of the drawbacks. This is something I would use on the daily, and something I believe everyone should try out.